“It’s really impressive the difference SolidarMed is making”

Swiss

Lesotho Almost on time, the small aircraft from Johannesburg touches down at Moshoeshoe Airport in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. It is carrying ten-time world champion cyclist Nino Schurter and his bike. But it is not only SolidarMed eagerly awaiting Nino’s arrival in Maseru, the national cycling team is there too, overjoyed that the champion is visiting their tiny country. They are proud to meet the multiple world champion and have cycled to the airport bearing gifts, including the national jersey. Nino is visibly touched by this surprise welcome.

After arriving in Maseru, the group is headed for Mokhotlong – a five-hour car journey. All of the Mokhotlong District is in the mountains at over 2,000 metres’ altitude. Remote communities and unmade roads make it difficult for the over 100,000 inhabitants to access healthcare. Without SolidarMed’s mobile clinic, many of these people would be completely cut off from vital medical care. Nino Schurter will accompany the mobile clinic on his bike over the next few days.

On the first day, Nino and the team head to Hamohale, a place that doesn’t feature on any map. The road is very steep and very rocky in places, which is why the mountain biker is often faster than the mobile clinic and is pleased to be on his bike rather than inside the bumpy vehicle. In order to access medical care, people in this area have to walk for at least two hours to the nearest health centre in Malefiloane. “In Hamohale, the mobile clinic not only treats people from the community, but also those from further afield who have walked here, some for several hours,” as the responsible community health worker, Mamamello Masiu tells the visitors from Switzerland.

On that day, 55 patients were treated, which is far fewer than the over 100 expected. “The heavy rain overnight turned the stream into a river, which is why people on the other side couldn’t make it,” explains SolidarMed staff member Laetitia Tanka, who is translating the conversations for the team.

Why does SolidarMed work with ambassadors?

Question: What can a mountain biker do to promote health in Africa? Answer: A lot. Nino Schurter can use his public profile to reach a large number of people and raise awareness of the public health emergency in rural Africa. For Nino it is important to see SolidarMed’s work for himself so that he can advocate and support its work with true conviction. Like many other organisations, SolidarMed has to spend money on PR and awarenessraising activities to secure lasting financial support. Of course, SolidarMed exercises great restraint in this area, as certified by its Zewo seal. So if SolidarMed were to buy the media coverage it gets through an ambassador, it would cost many times more. Nino Schurter is a volunteer ambassador and gets involved because health in Africa is a cause that matters to him.

Pregnant women walking for hours

The next day, Nino once again accompanied the mobile clinic on his bike. In Moeaneng he took the opportunity to do a video call with his seven-year-old daughter, Lisa. He is keen to show her that not everyone enjoys the privileges that people in Switzerland have. Two young local children try briefly to talk to Lisa. Suddenly, Lesotho and Switzerland don’t seem that far apart after all.

In Moeaneng Nino meets grandmother Manthuseng Ralithakong (63) who has come to the mobile clinic with her four grandchildren (a two-year old, two three-year-olds, and a four-year old) to get them vaccinated. As the children’s parents are in South Africa looking for work, she is in charge of the children. Manthuseng does not have a mobile phone and so is not in touch with the parents. The grandmother tells Nino how difficult it is to get to a health centre to have a baby. When her daughters were pregnant, she brewed and sold homemade beer to be able to afford motorised transport for them to access medical treatment. But that is only possible from the major junction, which is a four-hour walk away. The mobile clinic now brings the important pregnancy check-ups directly to communities, which brings reassurance and peace of mind for expectant mothers.

Back home in Switzerland

“This trip really left a mark on me. We Swiss are so privileged in many ways, and experiencing a country with poor healthcare so close up is something you don’t forget that easily,” said Schurter in an interview with the SRF programme Gesichter & Geschichten. In an interview with the Swiss magazine Schweizer Illustrierte, he stressed that the stories he had heard from people in Lesotho would stay with him forever, as would the smiles and the warm welcome he received everywhere he went. ■ pm

You can find more photos of Nino Schurter’s trip on our website: